Flag ban was a mistake, state says

A notice posted Wednesday suggesting that residents of the town’s senior housing complex could not display the American flag outside their units has been rescinded, but it has left behind a lot of hard feelings, questions to answer, and, in a show of patriotism, a lot more flags hanging from doorways and waving on lawns than were there before.

A notice posted Wednesday suggesting that residents of the town’s senior housing complex could not display the American flag outside their units has been rescinded, but it has left behind a lot of hard feelings, questions to answer, and, in a show of patriotism, a lot more flags hanging from doorways and waving on lawns than were there before.

A public outcry in the aftermath of the posting, placed on every door at the Bennett Garden complex off Taunton Street, also prompted reactions from U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, Gov. Deval Patrick state Rep. Dan Winslow, R-Norfolk.

An outraged Winslow, in fact, made his way over to Cataldo’s Hardware in Wrentham center, where he “cleaned them out” of their supply of hand-held, American-made cloth and plastic flags and proceeded to hand them out at Bennett Garden. He also donated 50 of the flags to the Wrentham selectmen’s office so they could distribute them to whomever wanted to join in a show of solidarity with the seniors.

According to the local housing authority, the flag order came from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) on Wednesday, “due to a tenant's repeated complaints” reported to the agency over the July 4th holiday.

The notice on residents’ doors state that the Housing Authority had been informed by the state that “the public display of the American flag in common areas is not permitted. As a result, all American flag displays must be restricted to the interior of your apartment.”

Yesterday morning, state officials were busy apologizing for the order, although no particular person could be identified as its originator.

“We were not aware of this decision (to ban the U.S. flags) when it was made, and it was a mistake that is being corrected immediately,” DHCD spokesman Jason Lefferts said in a statement yesterday. “Department of Housing and Community Development policy for local housing authorities includes not allowing displays of private materials in public areas. This does not extend to respectful and safe displays of the American flag.”

Gov. Patrick issued a similar statement.

Sen. Brown, whose home is in Wrentham, said he was concerned when he heard about the posting.

“Our flag stands for freedom, and is a symbol of the sacrifice made by our servicemen and women to protect the liberties we enjoy today. Flying the American flag should never be controversial, and no citizen should ever be prevented from doing so,” he said today. “I was deeply disturbed to learn of this misguided decision.”

Wrentham Housing Authority Chairman Robert Morrill, a former Wrentham fire chief, is on vacation and was not immediately available to comment.

Wrentham Housing Authority member Mary Geromini. said the person who complained to the state isn’t known to the Housing Authority and isn’t even a resident of Bennett Gardens, although she didn’t rule out the possibility that someone could have used a false name.

Page 2 of 3 - “We don’t know who called Boston. The name the person gave (the DHCD) is not a name we know. They may have given a fictitious name,” Geromini said.

Winslow said he went to the senior complex with the box of flags “to show everyone it is OK to display the flag.”

“I told them it’s their constitutional right to fly the flag,” he said. “I just want people to know you never have to apologize for waving the flag, ever.”

Not a single resident he offered a flag to refused it. He said he gave away about 20 flags there.

Winslow said the residents expressed everything from fright to anger over the situation.

“Some people were afraid they would get in trouble if they displayed the American flag … veterans and widows of veterans,” he said.

The 66-unit housing complex includes a number of veterans and their survivors among its residents.

“One woman refused to take the flag down because, she said, ‘I’m an American and nobody can tell me to take down the flag,’” Winslow related.

He said the woman, identified only as Barbara, lost a brother in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

“I applaud her for her defiance,” Winslow said.

Winslow said it is “outrageous” the situation happened.

“I’m glad they (DHCD) admitted the mistake, but it never should have happened,” he said.

“Whichever bureaucrat gave that order, I think they ought to replace that person’s job with a retired veteran.”

Geromini said the Wrentham Housing Authority’s secretary received a slew of “some of the nastiest emails you’ve ever seen” — enough to prompt Authority members to call police.

She said television news crews were at the complex since early Thursday morning. The situation, she said, has “caused all kind of chaos.”

The Wrentham selectmen’s office, although it does not have any authority over the local housing agency — that is the purview of the state — was also bombarded with calls, not only from residents upset about the ban, but from all over the country.

Selectmen Chairman Joseph Botaish said he is dismayed by what happened, not only for the sake of the Bennett Garden residents, but also the town at large. Many angry calls were directed to Town Hall, too.

“It is disgraceful that people who are doing their jobs at town hall are being accused of a lack of patriotism, and that officials are being accused of actions that they never took. All the while Wrentham is being accused of being unpatriotic. American flags fly over the town common, Town Hall and many other public and private buildings,” he said.

He added, “It is a great shame that the residents of the Housing Authority property at Bennett Gardens have been subjected to this ridiculous exercise of being told they cannot display American flags. I would like to know how such a positively silly directive was issued and why nobody involved had the common courtesy to speak to town officials before dragging the name of Wrentham through the mud.”